. i know the speaker as well as i do not want to see us go over the fiscal cliff, but feel very strongly we've got to get serious here. we don't want to increase tax rates. we're not going to increase tax rates. and we want to do something about the spending problem. and remember, the good will, the piece that is, i think, determinive here, the speaker's put new revenues on the table just after the election and said we get it. the president won his re- election. we won ours. we have to now come together. here is our proposal to the speaker -- to the president that we were unwilling to give a year and a half ago. >> they know they need to put revenant on the table, but will you come back and give them the entitlement cuts? >> we will take this as a serious matter. this is not a game. we are interested in trying to solve the problem for the american people so that we do not see taxes go up on anybody, so we can engage in reform, get the economy going again. we're not playing a game. that offer yesterday was not serious. thank you. >> next, nancy pelosi answers fiscal cliff questions. this is about 20 minutes. >> good afternoon. i'm here today with my colleague. i invited him here to be with us this afternoon because yesterday i named tim to be the

obama's offer to get off the fiscal cliff ludicrous and absurd. they are insisting on spending cuts. president held a campaign rally, toy factory in pennsylvania. she characterizing the opposition as a handful of republicans who want to hold middle class tax cuts hostage. what happens if a deal does not get done in time? we'll look at what sequestration really means. it appears susan rice had access to the president's daily brief before she made her misleading statement about the cause of the september 11 attacks. now back to my colleagues at "the five." ♪ ♪ >> brian: this is a senior and has autism and other development issues and a t place kicker, which is extraordinary. having a rough season. but anthony led the team to upset victory. here is how it sounded. [ cheering ] >> brian: this game-winning field goal is a hit on youtube ever since. what is amazing, this kid loves rutgers. he used to sit in the stands. developmentally around 12 years old. going to high school and beloved by everybody. sitting in the stands watching rutgers play and watched rutgers win a game with a fi

are almost nowhere. that is not good news as we approach the fiscal cliff. specifically, what areas would you be willing to compromise on in terms of spending or in terms of the tax proposals that are out there to try and get this thing solved? >> well, first of all, in terms of speaker boehner's comments, i think we have to recognize there is a certain choreography that goes on in a negotiation, as might be expected. after the leak the leadership got together and said the right things. then there's going to be a distancing as the difficult terms are negotiated until we come together again. i'm kf didnconfident we will an avoid the fiscal cliff. i recognize we'll have to give, as well as the other side, but i do completely agree with the president that the election was about something and one of the center front issues was whether those that have done well in the last decade should be called upon to do a little more in terms of helping to pay down our deficit and debt. i think the electorate answers that question so that's got to play a role in the negotiation and has. but i think we'll get to yes. >> how are you going to do it though? you sai

the fiscal cliff look like? it makes us look completely irresponsible as if we can't control our own spending and put in order some priorities. >> so some health care will be suffering? >> that's absolutely true. we want to incentive doctors ask hospitals to keep people well. not to just do procedures. and that's the key to really transforming medicare. >> i want to show you a map of the states that are refusing to implement the insurance exchanges. it's rather interesting. the other states are either implementing the exchanges or haven't decided to do that. if states don't decide to do it and the federal government comes in and sets up the exchange, isn't that kind of a win for the move towards universal health care because the infrastructure will be there? >> i think it provides people an option whether governors are refusing or not. that's the most important thing so they can get access to insurance products. also i think, you know, it takes away the claim that the federal government is u surping health care. states forfeited their option to do something. i also think we're going to have an in

should go off the fiscal cliff, that it will push them to negotiate a sort of more thoughtful deal -- >> right. >> -- they say that it's not a fiscal cliff, it's, you know, more of a slope. having said that, what is your thought on the psychological impact if we go off the cliff? >> it's huge. it's tremendous. it's absolutely tremendous because it will go across the board from regular americans who are going to see their taxes go up from $500 to $2,000 for middle-income household. this is going to affect their bottom line tremendously. that's groceries. that's saving money. that's their savings money for the year. but also what about mortgage interest? will that affect the housing market? there may be initial -- basically, it will go back down again, the housing market. or if it gets phased in, maybe we'll see a jump because people will rush in before the deduction completely goes away. but i think there's a lot of concern and a lot of panic among regular americans about will i lose these tax deductions? and what's that going to do to the ability to pay all my bills? >> yeah, and t

>> chris: i'm chris walls wallace, 30 days and counting, until we go over the fiscal cliff. ♪ >> chris: the president is demanding higher tax rates. congressional republicans want deeper spending would you tell us and entitlement reform. will they make a deal before we bring in the new year with a round of tax increases for all of us? we'll ask the two men at the center of the negotiations, where we really stand. for the president, treasury secretary timothy geithner, for the g.o.p., house speaker john boehner. geithner and boehner, only, on fox news sunday. >>> plus we have seen this movie before. the two parties edging closer and closer to the brink. we'll ask our sunday panel whether we'll get a happy ending for an economic disaster. >>> and our power player of the week, a young beauty queen has to make a tough choice, all, right now on fox news sunday. ♪ >> chris: and, hello again from fox news in washington. well, we had quite a day around here, friday. with talks to avoid the fiscal cliff deadlock and everyone saying, the other side is to blame, treasury secretary geithner scheduled a round of interviews, then, friday afternoon, speaker boehner's office called to say he want

comfortable with sending the economy over the fiscal cliff. >> the speaker's remarks riled the left and provoked this response from senate majority leader harry reid. >> he says that democrats have got to get serious about cuts, spending cuts. where is the disconnect, then? >> i don't understand his brain, so you should ask him. okay? >> with only a handful of legislative days left on the congress's calendar before the looming fiscal cliff becomes a raw reality, will the president and house gop find a way over the latest road black and back to the bargaining table? >> why did the white house decide to have this as their opening volley when they knew the response would be a negative one that they drew? >> was it hardball opening? yeah, of course it was. the question is, what's the counteroffer? >> i would imagine there has to -- tim geithner is too smart of a guy in this administration is filled with smart people. they must have a serious strategic plan. >> let's get straight into this and joining me now is senator barbara boxer, democrat from california. senator, it is great to have you with me this morning. >> thank you. >> just for everybody that's watching, i want to break down what the proposal is from the president th

the ceos in the room with president obama this week in the fiscal cliff meetings. many of the executives saying that the white house sounded resounding resoundingly reasonable when describing plans to address the debt and deficit. >> so was this proposal the white house made yesterday with more spending and very few spending cuts, was that what mr. sorenson was expecting out of the gate? he joins us on the telephone with his thoughts. good to have you with us. >> glad to be with you. >> when you were with the other ceos at the white house, does it jive with what we're hearing about that made mitch mcconnell laugh yesterday? are those two plans one in the same? >> well, i'm hopeful that what's happening in the media is posturing by both parties and doesn't reflect where either party thinks a deal will end up. i think what the president talked with us about on wednesday afternoon was much more a sense of where things ought to end up, and that was, i think, somewhat different than it sounds like what was proposed. >> so you didn't hear about the tax increase for the wealthiest, the spending increases that made mitch mcconnell laugh. those specifics you didn't get into with the president on wednesday, is that what you're saying? >> we certainly talked with the president and heard from the th

groundwork for getting a quick fix to this fiscal cliff. they could then move on to the spending cuts portion. >> sam stein, "huffington post," good to have you with us. >> go giants. >> stop that. >> had to do that. >> giants are okay. i like the packers better. remember to answer tonight's question question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter @edshow and on facebook. we always want to know what you think. >>> coming up, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell says democrats need to raise the eligibility age for medicare? obama care architect dr. zeke manual joins me to talk about what will happen if the parties don't come to a deal. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it! now we need a little bit more... [ male announcer ] at humana, we understand the value of quality time and personal attention. which is why we are proud to partner with health care professionals who understand the difference that quality time with our members can make... that's a very nice cake! ohh! [ giggles ] [ male announcer ] humana thanks the physicians, nurses, hospital

automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, the so-called "fiscal cliff". the president took to the road, while republicans warned there's a deadlock in efforts to reach a deficit deal. >> now, of course, santa delivers everywhere. i've been keeping my own naughty and nice lists for washington. >> warner: the president chose a seasonal setting, a toy factory in hatfield, pennsylvania, and holiday imagery to press again for extending tax cuts for the middle class. >> if congress does nothing, every family in america will see their income taxes automatically go up on january 1. i mean, i... i'm assuming that doesn't sound too good to you. >> no. >> that's sort of like the lump of coal you get for christmas. that's a scrooge christmas. >> warner: in washington, republicans portrayed the road trip as so much humbug, at a time, they said, when negotiations are going nowhere. >> there's a stalemate. let's not kid ourselves. >> warner: house speaker john boehr said republicans remain willing to raise revenues, but not by raising tax rates. and he charged the white house isn't negotiating in good faith

talking about. there is plenty of data to show that people don't even know what the fiscal cliff is. it shrinks rather than expands it. you don't spend. anti-keynesian has become the same politician involved in marriage and-- >> eliot: i distinguish between the two, the theological strand of the party is more of the social, same-sex marriage. >> i don't think there is as much distinction as you think there is. >> eliot: the second category, the tea part i began as economic empowerment. you're right. folks who say get government out of medicare, there is no logic to what they're saying. do youdo you buy it, but boehner is trying to harness and hold together that is fraught with inconsistencies. >> well, first of all i agree with sam. i think-- >> eliot: am i outvoted? i'm not sure that i like this. >> it's a distinction without a difference in the first two groups, and i don't think there is a third group left not with any power. do i think boehner is trying to rein in his caucus by sending a couple of rookie pitchers down to aa? if john boehner wanted control of his caucus he could discipline paul ryan whose crazy economic inside are ideas

we're going to get out of this mess. >> we don't just want to avoid the fiscal cliff. of course the parties want to avoid a fiscal cliff. but what conservatives want is to make 180-degree turn in fiscal policy towards lower taxes, lower spending, and greater prosperity. most importantly opportunity for all. >> i love that. i want you it talk that through with peter goodman. peter goodman, appreciate it. nan hey worth. one of our next guests believes the house republicans should dive head first off the fiscal cliff. oh, my god. he's going to have to explain that one to me. don't forget, folks, free market capitalism is the best bet to prosperity. let me just underscore the prosperity part. we need a lot more of it. i'm kudlow. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back to "the kudlow report." the new york mets agreed to a megamillion dollar contract extension for all star third baseman david wright today. he's not alone in this year-end wheeling and dealing. we're going to explain why baseball's feeling a fiscal cliff tax frenzy. that coming up in about 30 minutes. >>> now switching gears, with just 33 days until the country's economy plummets off the tax and fiscal cliff and there's still no deal in sight, we see today a daily caller o

should have the negotiations on the fiscal cliff. that's two things. $500 billion tax increase, the 2001, 2003 tax cuts lapsing and sequestration of spending restraint. it is a good thing, but saving $100 billion, -- >> not a common republican point of view. a lot of defense cuts. >> the head of the conservative caucus, 60% of most conservative guys in the house, jim jordan said the only thing worst than the sequester would be not having the savings and you saw mitch mcconnell saying we aren't ending the sequester. people are drawing lines in the sand -- let's try to cut to it. >> it has to be on c-span only then would the president have to say and boehner would say your spending cuts are what? cbs and nbc hasn't done that. and he was wandering around and if you look at the savings in this budget, $800 billion for not occupying iraq. and he cuts that as part of the savings. he counts of the savings, then you can't have the situation where republicans get why don't you raise taxes all day and no focus. once the bill is written, it needs to be online so everybody can go on their computer and read it and guys in the press can read it and talk radio can

the fiscal cliff. earlier today our hannity cameras caught up with a senator from wisconsin on capitol hill. >> it's increasingly clear to me that the president is very willing to go over the cliff. i think he ought to be spending more time listening and less time lecturing. the president seems to be just fixated on increasing tax rates even though they may hurt the economy and i'm concerned if we go over the cliff, that what we're going to see is unemployment back above 9% and we'll see, you know, a country where we're in a second recession. >> all right. the senator is absolutely right. what we heard from president in recent days amounts to nothing more than con descending lectures. in fact, he sounds like the same hyperpartisan canada that we saw on the campaign trail, you know, the one that worked tire leslie to demonize success. the president appears to have a out right unhealthy fixation on increasing taxes regardless of the consequence and bring on the fiscal cliff. he says who cares if we spiral into another recession. if unemployment goes back up to 9%, that's not the presiden

the first of many fiscal cliffs to come, if you will, much like debt ceilings of the 1980s. i think most investors have already done what they need to do for the fiscal cliff. it is called diversification. beyond that, i think they should focus more on what's going to be left after the cliff -- >> where can you hide? where can you diversify away from the fiscal cliff in minibonds? that's boring! >> well, i think you're sufficiently diversified. everyone should own a little bit of everything, stocks, bonds, commodities, overseas markets as well as domestic and real estate. and that's good enough. but i think if you do much more than that in anticipation of this, i think you're going to do yourself a disservice. i think it is better to focus on what we're going to return to very quickly after the end of this month or maybe a couple weeks into january and that's the fundamentals on the ground. they to me are looking better and better. >> you're a rich, successful guy. you're probably the mayor of minneapolis de facto. right? you got gold bars stashed in your garage out back, i'm sure.

to be but still not a great report. >> now the question is, what goes on with the fiscal cliff? could the number get any better? >> i think that is the hope on wall street and republicans that have been talk ug for years and of the business community and to start spending down their profits and there might be a better sort of ofavalanche, if u will. the question is, what does that deal have to look like to unleash those hopes? it probably has to be something permanent and not a punt. >> the republicans talked about two things, though. one, as you say, is about certainty and they say that businesses need that certainty to start hiring but they've also warned that if tax rates go up on the wealthy that would have have a negative impact. >> i think republican orthodoxy is bad. if you raise taxes on the wealthy, absolutely, it's going to drag on growth a bit. but the hope is among the analysts is that the positive impact of getting certainty and beyond just certainty, seeing that washington can avoid a debt limit fight, that might help boost confidence that would be very conducive to job creation. >> you bring up a very important point because we were talking to a congressman about the possibility of a debt ceiling and talking to david from role call roll call.

the fiscal cliff, global business travel association estimates that u.s. biz travel spending will take a $20 billion hit in the short term. but how about the long term outlook? find out next. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. >>> what are the long term effects for business travel if the economy falls off the fiscal cliff? the gbta predicts the reduced deficits and lower interest rates will lead to growth in the economy and an increase in business travel spending. >>> welcome back. now to the weather channel. reynolds wolf is standing by. what is happening around the country today? >> the story is all west. everything is taking place out west. rain, some strong winds, even some snow. some places snow getting up to around 2, 3 feet,

focus on this debt ceiling. the reason we find ourselves about to go off the fiscal cliff with the automatic spending cuts, in part is because back in 2011, they wanted to raise the debt ceiling and the republicans said you cannot do it unless we do spending cuts. we cannot just do deficit spending. so they agree, they cut this deal, now the democrats are going to the republicans and saying, forget that. let's just in the position to get rid of it. what on earth would make them think that republicans would agree to that? >> because the president thinks he has a mandate from the whole country. he thinks he can get anything he wants. i am sure that alan colmes loves this idea. here are the problems. the congress has the authority to authorize the debt. they also have the authority to authorize the bill that pays the debt. so now the president wants to take that away. this guy has shown a tendency to say that i don't need congress. i can pass laws with a stroke of a pen on executive orders. he doesn't need the supreme court because he declares laws unconstitutional, like doma. he says he wants an unlimited c

american jobs and protect the middle class from the fiscal cliff. without spending cuts and entitlement reform, it will be impossible to address our countries debt crisis and get our economy going again and create jobs. right now, all eyes are on the white house. our country does not need a victory lap, it needs leadership. it is time for the president and congressional democrats to tell the american people what spending cuts they are really going to make. with that, i will take a few questions. [inaudible question] >> we have outlined very specific proposals that we passed in last year's budget and the budget before. we know what the venue is. what we do not know is what the white house is willing to do to get serious about solving our debt crisis. [inaudible question] >> i am not going to get into the details. it is very clear what kind of spending cuts need to occur. we have no idea what the white house is willing to do. [inaudible question] >> no, no, no. stop. i have to tell you, i am disappointed in where we are. i am disappointed in what has happened over the last cou

we need is the president to come forward with a plan on how he wants to avert the fiscal cliff. it is irresponsible of us not to deal with the spending issue and simply to push for raising taxes on hard-working american people. many of us come from small- business backgrounds -- family owned businesses. we understand the situation very well. but it isn't -- it is important we not pass this problem along to our children and grandchildren, but we deal with it in a responsible way. the republicans have come forward with a responsible plan and will continue to do that and look for ways to keep us from going over this fiscal cliff. >> we have time for a couple questions before we go to our meeting. >> your colleague has told other colleagues that it is time to vote to extend the middle-class tax cut -- i want to get your take on his comments. more importantly, is this the direction the conference is going? >> i told tom earlier that i disagree with him. he is a wonderful friend and a great supporter of mine, but raising taxes on the so-called top 2%, half as taxpayers are small business owners who pay their taxes with personal income tax filing

send the nation off of the fiscal cliff, letting all income tax rates to jump, spending cuts to take hold, investment income rates to jump. he's willing to do that. he thinks republicans would get the political blame. republicans, on the other hand, note that listen, the president's going to have to have another term where he's dealing with what's likely to be a deep recession as a result of these huge income tax jumps. so it's a position that neither man really wants to be in, but talks have completely dried up. yesterday speaker john boehner and president obama did not speak and their staffs did not speak. so really this thing is at a standstill like we've never seen before. >> yeah. so the fact that we're not even talking now. the aides aren't even talking the each other. where does that leave us? how comfortable is everybody with this? when are they going to restart speaking? >> house republicans released their own proposal a couple days ago, which they thought made major concessions in offering up new tax revenue, which the party hasn't really done in decades. the president and

interested in avoiding the fiscal cliff, and clearly not interested at all in cutting any spending. with the president is really in, as we learned just yesterday, is getting as much taxpayer money as he can, first by raising taxes on small businesses who he believes are making too much money, and then on everybody else. not so he can lower the debt or the deficit, but so he can spend to his heart's content. for months, the president has been saying that all he wanted to raise taxes on the top 2% so he can tackle the debt and the deficit. however, yesterday, he finally revealed that that is not really is true intent. by demanding the power to raise the debt limit whenever he wants, by as much as he wants, he showed what he is really after is assuming unprecedented power to spend taxpayer dollars without any limit at all. this is not about getting a handle on deficits or debt or him. it is about spending even more than he already has. why else would you demand the power to raise the debt limit on his own? by the way, why on earth would we consider giving a president who has brought us four yea

white house is willing to do. >> beware, there's a fiscal cliff ahead, but there's still no plan from the president on how to cut spending. >> made a mistake, but i didn't. almost 18, almost 20 years ago. >> a former democratic representative who was convicted of having sex with an underage girl says he's back, and he's running for congress. all of that, plus a shocking new report that gitmo detainees may be coming to america. "hannity" starts right here, right now. new troubles for u.n. ambassador susan rice this as questions surface about her time at the state department when al-qaeda bombed two african embassies in the late '90s, and how the situation parallels what happened prior to the terror attack in benghazi that left four americans dead. yesterday republican senator susan collins met with ambassador rice for 90 minutes, and after the closed-door meeting the senator questioned rice's role at the state department back in 1998 when she served as the assistant secretary of state for african affairs in the clinton administration. watch this. >> those bombings in 1998 resulted in the loss of life of 12 americans as well as man

for revenues which would be enough to get us past the fiscal cliff, use automatic spending cuts to make sure taxes don't go up, at least on the great majority and then figure out what to do about the upper brackets, and if that is -- that would be a mechanism that would guarantee further action next year and as is very well possible they would disagree next year and there would be some sort of trigger or punishment for their lack of action. that sounds relatively simple, putting it all together could take at least a couple weeks after you have a deal, there could be some inevitable blow ups from conservatives in the house for the senate so a lot of it is speculation. secondly, a lot of of things that might go in this down payment, farm subsidy cuts, there is a proposal to make federal retirees--federal workers pay more towards their retirement, that can get pretty political pretty quickly. it is very much in flux. all of that presupposes they get an agreement. there is a school of thought that they can't get an agreement until after tax rates actually go. >> host: andrew taylor is

properly by this approach to the fiscal cliff? guest: listen, the republicans have an obligation to be a checks and balance system for the president and his policy. you have got to cut spending. you have to modestly raised taxes. you cannot say that you are not willing to put into how the programs on the table as harry reid said some time ago. my criticism is not that the president is not willing to compromise. i think the president is willing to compromise. my point today is i do not want us to continue to see this as left-right. we need to see this as we the people holding these officials accountable to reach a compromise because there is too much debt is at stake. you should be incensed that congress recessed early yesterday to go home in the middle of this crisis. that to me is an outrage. what does that say how seriously they take in this cliff will face on december 31? it will have an enormous impact. we should hold the members of congress -- we should do our homework and become educated so we can bring about the accountability that seems to be missing from this debate. host: this is drake on twitter. this is big guns. host: and h. robert asks -- host: back to the column by

fiscal cliff, but feel very strongly we've got to get serious here. we don't want to increase tax rates. we're not going to increase tax rates. and we want to do something about the spending problem. and remember, the good will, the piece that is, i think, determinive here, the speakers put new revenues on the table just after the election and said we get it. the president won his re-election. we wonelection. >> they know they need to put revenant on the table, but will and give them the entitlement cuts? >> we will take this as a serious matter. this is not a game. we are interested in trying to solve the problem for the american people so that we do not see taxes go up on anybody, so we can engage in reform, get the economy going again. we're not playing a game. that offer yesterday was not serious. thank you. >> that was a portion of a briefing held earlier today. eric cantor talked about a bill that the house pass today that creates a new visa program. the vote was 245-139. the house is adjourned for the week, but members return at noon on monday. for more about that, we will now show you remarks from majority leader eric cantor and steny hoyer on next week's agenda. mr. cant

over the fiscal cliff tax and spend. what about the cuts? rush limbaugh reacts. >> brian: scary situation. a mom takes her very sick daughter out of the hospital. still hooked up to an i.v. and police say if they're not found soon she could die. >> steve: wow. meanwhile, look at this video. why is that construction worker so excited? he just found out he had apparently the winning powerball numbers. who is he? where is that? we'll tell what you we know. "fox & friends" hour two for friday starts right now. >> ho, ho, ho. >> steve: look out below. remember this one from last year? rick reichmuth sure lives on the edge and over it and he's doing it again this yearment we're going to show i couldn't he's about to drop off the side of a 22-story building in connecticut. rick's annual santa rappel down a sky scraper live this morning, straight down 300 feet stanford connecticut. good morning to you, rick. >> good morning. yeah. when you look over the ledge from the top, it's not all that fun. you're getting the good shot there. you can see the camera crew setting up down below the ca

"kelly's court" coming up next half hour. well, the whole fiscal cliff fight is supposed to be about cutting our ballooning debts. so why is the president not proposing a quarter trillion dollars in new spending? the question is also up next. plus, lindsey graham not missing words about the possibility of closing this prison camp and moving the prisoners here is michelle malcolm joins me live to discuss why he might not get his wish. and a desperate search effort. see why the young girl's mother is the prime suspect in removing her from the hospital. >> we were seeing them by the front entrance. and they walked into the bathroom. they disconnected her from her id and just walked up the front door and got into the car. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, now is a good time to think about your options. are you looking for a plan that really meets your needs and your budget? as you probably know, medicare only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. and coul

spending will help the fiscal cliff. our first guest just finished up a mead meeting with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. gerry seib is "wall street journal" washington bureau chief. we're dying to know what he said? what did he say? >> he said several things and we have story on the website that summarizes all of this. first of all his reaction to the geithner proposal today was to laugh at it. comical and essentially a nonstarter. in his view the ball remains in the president's court. that is what you would expect. secondly he said nothing better is going on in private. it is not as if there is some quiet talks going on he said, that have a better tone than what we've been hearing the last 48 hours. thirdly, really intriguingly, here is what we're looking for from the white house on entitlements, on steps to rein in spending on entitlement programs. republicans have been saying we're waiting for something to happen on spending so that we can then maybe have a more meaningful conversation on revenues on the other side. we asked him what does that mean? it means we're loo

economy to the edge of the fiscal cliff instead of engaging in serious talks to avert the cliff, that includes spending cuts and tax reforms the president once supported. the white house has only offered a joke. i understand we have speaker boehner to the microphones. let's take a listen. >> when it comes to the fiscal cliff that's threatening our economy and threatening jobs, the white house has wasted another week. eight days ago secretary geithner came here to offer a plan that had twice the tax hikes that the president campaigned on. it had more stimulus spending than it had in cuts. and an indefinite, infinite increase on the debt limit, like forever. four days ago we offered a serious proposal, based on testimony of president clinton's former chief of staff. since then, there's been no counteroffer from the white house. instead, reports indicate that the president has adopted a deliberate strategy to slow-walk our economy right to the edge of the cliff. instead of cutting spending, the president want to raise tax rates. but even if the president got the tax rate hike that he wanted, understand that we

fiscal cliff. it's one of the reasons why we believe that we put revenue on the table as long as it's accompanied by serious spending cuts. to avert this crisis. >> now, to be fair, speaker boehner did not want to lay out a bunch of spending cuts on camera, at least. he says he will save those discussions, those negotiations for his talks with the president. shep. >> shepard: those are always behind closed doors, those spending cut talks. mike emanuel at the rotunda at the russell building. thanks. if you win tonight's power ball jackpot you can stop worrying about anything washington does go. out and buy your own country and make your own laws. tonight's jackpot is now $550 million. that's a record for power ball and the second highest lottery jackpot ever in our country. lottery officials say tickets are selling at a rate of, get this: 130,000 tickets per minute. and a lot of people say they already know what they are going to do if they win. >> i would go away and hide for a little bit. >> some of it it is going to go to charity. and then it's going to help me be successful. >> of course i'm not going to work tomorrow

fiscal cliff. it's actually too much deficit reduck sln too quickly in the wrong parts of the budget. you want a more thoughtful, thought out plan. on your point about the debt ceiling, we what we need is to have certainty, know where we're headed. not have multiple showdowns but the debt ceiling is only going to be increased significantly if it goes hand in hand with a big enough deal which has real changes in the budget. so the best thing we could do is put in place a balanced plan deals with all parts of the budget and really provides the kind of sense of security that households, small businesses, everybody needs to know so we can start planning for the economy and hopefully getting things growing back again. one of the things you see is that when your debt levels are as high as they are, in this country right now, that's a tamp on economic growth and can harm growth. that's the point we're at. we know that part of a growth strategy will have to be getting control of these deficits and debt and fix the debt as basically saying, we have to work this out and do it in a bipartisan way th

? so the fiscal cliff would address the deficit problem. it is $5.5 trillion to the deficit. nobody wants it to happen. you know, the interesting thing about the president's proposal, i disagree with the stimulus spending being included. i support stimulus spending but that is kind of an extraneous issue right now. the cliff is basically the expiration of the tax rates and the across the board spending cuts of about 9% across defense and all domestic spending. that is the fiscal cliff. we shouldn't be dealing with other issues that are long term in order to avert the cliff as it were. that is immediate crisis. we have long term situation --. bill: but you know when lawmakers get a little bit of rope, you know, when they get time to think about it and push it off to the next year, it never gets done. this budget proposal, there are many who wonder whether or not even democrats could support it. the last budget that came from the white house went to the senate, it went 98-0 against it. no one voted for it. melissa: well, that was kind of a tricky parliamentary issue as well but, i do take issue with one thing, the idea we haven't dealt with entightments. we had two years, a year and a half we debated medicare.

the fiscal cliff. >> obama: let's allow higher rates to go up for the top 2% that includes all of you guests but not in anyway that is going to affect your spending, your lifestyles or the economy in any significant way. let's make sure that 98% of americans don't see a single dime in tax increases next year. 97% of small businesses don't see a single dime of tax increases next year and by doing that alone we raise almost a trillion dollars. [♪ "world news tonight" theme ♪] >> stephanie: associated press says the white house is signalling president obama is willing to let the country go over the cliff. this is a choice of the republican party if they are willing to do higher rates on the country, there is a lot to talk about, if they are not, they will push us over the cliff. tim geithner said there is no prospect in an agreement that doesn't include the tax rate going up on the top 2% of americans. he said we are not prepared to have the american economy held hostage to periodic threats. >> there you go. >> stephanie: and he pointed out, taxes were the centerpiece of the presidential campaign. he ran on a pledge to repeal these tax cuts. 60% of vo

may hang in the balance as the nation gets closer to a fiscal cliff. democrats and republicans have one month to come up with a plan to stop the across the board tax hikes and the major federal spending cuts from taking effect. i'm gregg jarrett. >> heather: i'm heather childers. some of the early optimism for a deal seems to be fading. steve is live in washington with more. >> reporter: one month away from that so-called fiscal cliff. there appears to be very little movement toward any kind of deal. president obama is using the bully-pulpit to appeal to the american people to push for immediate action to push the tax cuts for everybody except for those earning more than $250,000 a year. in his saturday address, he stressed the urgency of the situation. >> if congress does nothing, every family will see their income taxes automatically go up at the beginning of next year. a typical middle-class family of four will see income taxes rise by $2200. we can't let that happen. a families can't afford it and neither can our economy. >> reporter: republicans led by house speaker john boehner says he should quit campaigning and take care of the business at hand. republicans say they are willing to

. 25 days before the u.s. is set to go over the fiscal cliff and still no deal. >> the president wants more revenue and fewer spending cuts then if we fell off the fiscal cliff. >> pulling the rug out from under these families would delay the recovery. how do we get the economy moving? weekly unemployment claims spike. governor chris christie pressed president obama for additional aid. >> i am going home, guys. >> hiring plans plans last month. matching a record low from november of 2008. planned layoffs rose 20% to their highest levels in six months. consumer spending is down. >> i want to thank tiffany. >> the fiscal cliff negotiations are down to president obama and john boehner. the uncertainty could take a toll. >> it hasn't affected hiring and layoff decisions yet but it will if we get into next year and haven't nailed this down. >> on monday the president travels to michigan to talked economy at a diesel plant. >> why is superstar sandy plain such a role in the jobs report? >> 24 states were affected one way or the other. businesses had to shut down. between the fiscal cliff and senate come when my has seen it up t

. ♪ ♪ host: 25 days to go before the united states faces the fiscal cliff, the white house has rejected a proposal from house republicans to prevent tax hikes and spending cuts at the end of the year. no formal talks between the two sides are scheduled today. will go outside the nation's capital to get your voice involved. republicans -- democrats -- independents -- send us a tweet, post your comments on facebook, or send us an e-mail. we begin with some of the papers across the country today and how this latest proposal from house republicans is playing out in the papers. courtesy of "the atlantic journal-constitution" -- here is "the denver post" -- finally, here is "of the arizona republic" -- here is "the washington post" on what is inside this deal -- we want to get your take on this. what do you think? ted in new york, a democratic caller. what do you think? caller: good morning. i do not think it goes far enough. i think it was greenspan that i heard last week said in a discussion panel that a recession as a result of going over the fiscal slope would be a small price to pay to pay back all the bills, the $16 trillion, that this country owes. so, i do

will be critical, because they need republican support to get any final fiscal cliff deal through the senate, and also through the house, they say they hope that he's coming with concrete spending cut ideas that are acceptable to the administration. one of the meetings today will be with senate republican leader mitch mcconnell who a short time ago sounded pretty fired up. >> the only reason democrats are insisting on raising rates is because raising rates on the so-called rich is the holy grail of liberalism. their aim is not job he tkraoe asian, they are interested in wealth destruction. not job creation but wealth destruction. >> reporter: a short time ago vice president biden was out and about and he told reporters that he is optimistic about the overall fiscal cliff talks, martha. martha: we'll see. the way they speak publicly there doesn't seem to be a lot of budging on either side. we know there were pretty high profile white house meetings, but those conversations, not happening publicly right now, but are they going on behind closed doors do we think? >> reporter: we know president obama and speaker john boehner had a phone conversation last night. a source familiar with t

stalemate on the minds of so many of you here, 27 days until the fiscal cliff. and i know you know that already, but guess what, folks? the deadline for congress and the white house to act, to stop the tax increase and punishing spending cuts, that deadline is coming up quicker than you may realize because did you know, congress plans to end its current session on december 21st? check your calendar as we did today. that's two weeks from friday. that means that under congressional rules any agreement, any legislation to fix this whole mess would have to be filed here by december 28th. here's the kicker. the president currently plans to leave town the day before that, on the 17th of this month. so the yearly obama trip to hawaii is set to start a week from next monday. you feel me here? see where i'm going? the window closing faster than folks think. what are our decisionmakers doing right now? among other things they are apparently sending signals through the media. republicans saying time to get moving. the president saying there is a deal to be had fairly quickly if the republicans come around to raising taxes on the wealthy. let me give you the president first. >> -- good faith offer to avert the fiscal crisis, and that

over the fiscal cliff? but the g.o.p. is not so keen on a deal, at least the one the white house presented yesterday. the first offer from president obama and treasury secretary timothy geithner included a $1.6 trillion tax increase along with an extension of the payroll answer it cut and unemployment insurance and a request for $50,000,000,000 worth of stimulus spending next year. now, it doesn't promise $400,000,000,000 worth of spending cuts but congressional republicans call the deal unbalanced and unreasonable and saying there is not enough spending cuts and reforms. the one good piece of -- piece of good news to the white house on this is it shows president obama is opening strong not conceding. we will be right back. arguments to feel confident in their positions. i want them to have the data and i want them to have the passion. but it's also about telling them, you're put on this planet for something more. i want this show to have an impact beyond just informing. an impact that gets people to take action themselves. as a human being, that's really important. this is not j

two men to try to keep america from going over the fiscal cliff. 25 days and counting from the massive tax hikes and spending cuts. congress breaking in a week for the holiday. so john boehner trying to simplify things. he's asking top democrats and republica republicans to step aside so he can negotiate with the president one-on-one. it seems to be a request that everyone was able to live with. brianna keilar is live for us at the white house. if this is the case that everybody has been cleared out of the room, does that surprise you? it seems to make sense to me. >> reporter: it's not surprising at all. this is what observers of this process thought would happen all along. ultimately this was a process that would come down to president obama and house speaker john boehner brokering a deal. very much the way you saw they attempted to do during the debt ceiling debacle last year. it simplifies the problem of less cooks in the kitchen. then they will have to sell it. president obama would have to bring in democrats. john boehner would have to bring in his republicans and make sure everyone is on board. this comes

days until the nation's economy goes over the so-called fiscal cliff. the white house and congressional republicans said to be deadlocked. president obama released his plan. it includes 1.6 trillion dollars in new tax increases. 50 billion in new stimulus spending. and stimulus, and new power to raise the debt ceiling without congressional approval. tim geithner, john boehner appearing with chris wallace on fox news sunday. >> we're nowhere, period. we're nowhere. we put a serious offer on the table by putting revenues up there to get this question resolved but the white house has responded with virtually nothing. they have actually asked for more revenue than they have been asking the whole entire time. >> in kind of a tough position now. it is going to be, obviously a little hard for them now. they're trying to figure out where they go next. we might need to give them a little more time to let them go next. we did what you expect from us. we laid out a very detailed, carefully designed set of spending savings and tax changes that help put us back on a path to fiscal responsibility. bill: where are we now? senior white house foreign affairs correspondent wendell goler on the north lawn. wendell, has either side suggest what a compromise might possi